Who is William Wallace? California man propped dead wife on couch and told kids she was ‘drunk’ on Christmas
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: A Southern California man who killed his wife propped up her body on a sofa, told their children she was drunk and had them open Christmas presents in front of her body, a prosecutor told jurors at his murder trial.
William Wallace of Anaheim, California, was charged in the 2011 killing of his wife, Za'Zell Preston, 26, which allegedly occurred during a violent argument on Christmas Eve that year. According to the Orange County Register, during his trial on Monday, March 8, prosecutors claimed that, on Christmas morning, Wallace placed Preston's body on the sofa with sunglasses on and proceeded to have their children open gifts.
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The couple had gone to a neighbor's Christmas Eve party and a neighbor described hearing an argument later that night, Brown said. Another neighbor said Wallace could be seen picking up what appeared to be a body by an apartment gate. Wallace told a member of Preston's family that "we were drinking and during the argument, I tossed her around a bit", the prosecutor said. Preston was trying to flee Wallace, but he tracked her down and dragged her back to the apartment, according to prosecutors. Brown said the next morning, Wallace pulled his wife's body from the bedroom to the living room couch, placed sunglasses on her and told the children: "Mommy ruined Christmas, she got drunk and ruined Christmas."
While Preston was propped up on the couch, Wallace had the two children open Christmas gifts. Preston was slumped over on the couch when paramedics arrived. Later, Wallace claimed that it was Preston who had attacked him, bit him and that she fell and hit her head while he was defending himself. Wallace's attorney also made similar claims saying his client was "being accused of something that is not his fault" and that Preston got drunk and fell on a glass table, hitting her head.
At the time, Wallace's two daughters were 8 and 3 years old. The pair also shared a 7-week-old newborn. Preston was studying to become a domestic violence counselor at the time.
Witnesses have revealed that Wallace had repeatedly shown violent behavior toward his wife. Relatives of Preston also allegedly told investigators that Wallace had threatened to kill Preston before. "This Christmas story does not have a happy ending, and unfortunately this is not just a story, it is real life," Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown said in court. Meanwhile, Wallace's defense attorney, Heather Moorhead, told jurors, "You will hear about a relationship that was full of arguing and yelling, but also a lot of love," Washington Post reports.
Lorri Galloway, a longtime friend of Preston who was also an Anaheim city council member, told The Orange County Register that Wallace regularly hit Preston during their three-year relationship. Galloway, who ran a home for abused women and children, said she and others urged Preston to leave Wallace. "This is the story of a girl who had access to resources, but she thought she could handle it," Galloway said. "These men are experts at apologizing. The women think they can change them."
In 2008, Wallace was convicted of battery against a cohabitant. He was jailed for 45 days and was required to attend a batterer’s treatment program. Soon afterward, Preston got a restraining order against him, but relatives said that on several occasions he managed to convince her to forgive him. Wallace was arrested at least two times for violating the restraining order. Nonetheless, Preston would visit him in jail.
Wallace has been in jail since he was arrested on Christmas Day 2011, in lieu of $1M bail. He faces first-degree murder charges.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.